Hubfor a rotary brush

ABSTRACT

A HUB FOR A ROTARY, FLOOR SCRUBBING BRUSH BY WHICH THE BRUSH IS REMOVABLY ATTACHED TO THE DRIVING SPINDLE OF A FLOOR POLISHER. THE HUB IS CONNECTED TO THE BRUSH BACK BY MEANS OF PINS WHICH PASS THROUGH OPENINGS IN THE BRUSH BACK AND THE FREE ENDS OF THE PINS ARE DEFORMED OR EXPANDED IN ORDER TO CONTACT THE HUB AT THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE BRUSH BACK. IN ADDITION, THE HUB IS PROVIDED WITH A CENTRAL CYLINDRICAL PROJECTION ONTO WHICH A BUFFING PAD MAY BE REMOVABLY ATTACHED TO THE BRUSH. THE BRUSH HUB ACCORDING TO THIS INVENTION IS ALSO CAPABLE OF BEING MOLDED AS A SINGLE PIECE FOR ECONOMIC MANUFACTURE AND ASSEMBLY.

Feb. 16, 1971 BEUCKA ETAL HUB FOR A ROTARY BRUSH Filed July 11, 1969 L B i [NVENTURS Mic/ n51 f. BEL/(3K9 Jom/ J. KowaLsWs/fl BY United States Patent US. Cl. 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hub for a rotary, floor scrubbing brush by which the brush is removably attached to the driving spindle of a floor polisher. The hub is connected to the brush back by means of pins which pass through openings in the brush back and the free ends of the pins are deformed or expanded in order to contact the hub at the opposite side of the brush back. In addition, the hub is provided with a central cylindrical projection onto which a bufiing pad may be removably attached to the brush. The brush hub according to this invention is also capable of being molded as a single piece for economic manufacture and assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The subject invention is concerned with means for attaching and removing brushes of a floor polisher from a driving spindle. Heretofore, scrubbing brushes for floor polishers have been removably held on the associated drive spindle by means of a snap ring or hairpin spring which caught in a recess of the drive spindle for holding the brush on the spindle and holding the driving lug means of the spindle and associated brush in engagement. However, in removing a brush with such a connector it is very difficult for a housewife to pull the brush axially away from the spindle and ordinarily the user tends to pull the brush at an angle to the spindle. This can be done with the prior art latching arrangement so long as the relative movement between the brush and the spindle does not move the snap ring or spring further into the spindle recess, since the brush is then more difiicult to remove and the user cannot determine whether he is pulling the brush in this direction or not and believes the connection is either defective or too stiff. With the latching arrangement according to this invention this difficulty is overcome. In addition, it has been necessary heretofore to provide a member for attaching bufling pads to the brushes of a floor polisher which member was either fixed onto the brush back or provided as a separate piece which is subject to being misplaced and lost. The need for a member fixed to the brush back requires an added manufacturing operation, stocking and handling of the separate piece thereby increasing the cost of the brush. The provision of a separate piece not only has the disadvantage of an added manufacturing operation, but also the purchaser is subject to the inconvenience of losing the separate piece. This invention obviates all of the foregoing disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A rotary brush having a hub member in accordance with this invention consists of a single molded hub member which is permanently attached to the brush by means of pins extending through openings in the brush back. The ends of the pins are deformed by the application of heat or the ends of the pins are hollowed and formed with barbs so that the barbs pass through the openings in the brush back and expand after passing through these openings whereby the hub is quickly and easily attached 3,562,843 Patented Feb. 16, 1971 "ice to the brush back for economic manufacture and as sembly. The hub and associated brush is removably held on the driving spindle by means of axially rigid but radially flexible fingers having radially tips which extend into the spindle recess. These fingers, due to their radial flexibility, allow for easy removal of the brush from the spindle at any angle with the spindle axis, thereby improving the removability of the brush from the spindle. The one piece molded hub has an axial cylindrical projection forming a snap button by means of which a bufiing pad, or the like may be attached thereto. The provision of this projection on the molded hub member does not require a separate manufacturing operation and it eliminates the necessary for a separate pad fastening piece which is subject to being lost.

Therefore an object of the invention is to provide an improved rotary brush for a floor polisher.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hub for a rotary brush.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a rotary brush for a floor polisher having a hub according to a presently preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional assembly view of the parts shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the hub member shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are top and bottom views, respectively, of the hub shown in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a known type of driving spindle 10 is fixed to a gear wheel 11 of a floor polisher (not shown). The central portion 11a of the gear is provided with a number of incumferentially spaced driving lugs 12 and an annular groove or recess 13 is also provided thereon whereby a brush 15 having a back 16 may be removable connected to the spindle. In accordance with this invention, a hub generally designated 20 is connected to the brush back 16 for removably attaching the brush 15 to the spindle 10. The hub 20 may consist of any suitable moldable synthetic resin material and includes an annular, outer web portion 21 from which a plurality of pins 22 project. The brush back 16 is provided with a plurality of openings 17 through which the pins 22 pass and extend beyond the bristle side of the brush back. The pins 22 may be solid (not shown) so that they can be headed by any suitable known heat generating or high frequency welding apparatus. As shown in the drawing, the pins are preferably hollow at the free ends 22a and have radially outwardly extending barbs 23.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the hub 20 is placed on the brush back the pins 22 pass through the openings 17 since the barbs 23 are free to move inwardly as they are pushed through the brush back openings 17. Once the hub is engaged firmly with the brush back the barbs expand radially beyond the openings 17 on the opposite or bristle side of the brush back, thereby fixing the hub in place. The pins 22 also as drive members between the brush and the hub, i.e. the driving force imparted by the spindle to the hub, is further transmitted by the pins 22 to the brush back.

In addition to the outer annular web portion 21, the hub 20 also includes an inner web portion 21a having a plurality of latching fingers 24 which extend in an axial direction. Each finger is relatively rigid in the axial direction and has an inwardly projecting lip 25 at its free end. The lip 25 is adapted to engage within the recess 13 of the spindle 10 and the length of the fingers is appropriately dimensioned to this end.

The inner annular web portion 21a is also provided with pockets 26 for receiving the lugs 12 of the driving spindle 10. As shown in the drawing, the pockets 26 are disposed between adjacent fingers 24 and are four in number, equal to the number of latching fingers. However, the number of pockets 26 and latching fingers need not be the same.

A button 30 for attaching a bufling pad (not shown) to the brush 15 is formed integral with the hub 20 and is connected to the hub by means of a number of struts 31 which extend axially from the inner web 21a in shipment with the lug pockets 26. Thus, the latching fingers are disposed between the struts 31 but the struts 31 are dimensioned to position the button 30 beyond the bristled surface of the brush back and form a stop for the free end of the driving spindle so that the lips 25 of the fingers 24 positively register with the recess 13 thereof. However, the same result may be obtained, i,e. registering the lips 25 of fingers 24 with the recess 13 of spindle 10, by suitably dimensioning the axial dimension of the lugs and the axial depth of the pockets. As a result, the user cannot push the brush onto the driving spindle until it stops without having the fingers lips snap into the spindle recess.

The operation of the above described device is as follows:

When it is desired to attach the brush 15 to the gear 11 of the spindle 10, the central portion 11a of the gear is introduced into the hollow central space of the hub number 20, the resilient fingers 24 of the latter being sprung radially outwardly until the lips 25 thereon come into alignment with the annular groove 13. The resiliency of the arms 24 causes the lips 25 to engage the groove with sufficient force to retain the brush 15 in place.

During operation of the floor polisher the brush bristles rest on the floor, the brush 15 thus supporting the Weight of the rest of the floor polisher. Hence, under these conditions there is no tendency for the brush to become detached from the spindle as the force of gravity holds them together. As above explained, torque is transmitted from the central portion 11a of the gear through the lugs 12 to the hub number 2.0 and thence by the pins 22 to the brush back 16. The fingers 24 are not required to transmit any torque, but only have to sustain the weight of the brush 15 when the floor polisher is lifted off the floor.

4 When it is desired to remove the brush from the gear 11, the brush back 16 may be grasped at any point on its circumference and pulled in a direction away from the gear. Although this will tend to tilt or cock the back with respect to the spindle, the motion nevertheless will pull the resilient finger 24 which is radially in line with the.

point where the back is grasped, or the two fingers which are on either side thereof if the back is grasped at a point between two fingers, out of the groove 13, and further tilting movement will disengage the remaining fingers.

What is claimed is:

1. A floor polisher brush latching and drive apparatus comprising a brush back having bristles extending from one surface thereof, a centrally located bore extending through said brush back, a hub member having an outer annual Web portion overlying said brush back on the surface thereof opposite said one surface, means connected with said outer annular web portion for connecting said hub onto said brush back; said hub having an inner annular web portion which is integral with said outer annular web portion, said inner annular web portion overlying said bore, a plurality of axially extending fingers integral with said inner web portion, each of said fingers terminating within said bore having a radially inwardly extending lip at the terminal end of each finger, a plurality of driving lug pockets in said inner web portion, a plurality of struts extending axially from said inner Web portion, said struts terminating in a button means axially remote from said inner web, and said button means extending beyond the bristle surface of said brush back.

References Cited STATES PATENTS 

